Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Cadence
Ca′dence
,Noun.
[OE.
cadence
, cadens
, LL. cadentia
a falling, fr. L. cadere
to fall; cf. F. cadence
, It. cadenza
. See Chance
.] 1.
The act or state of declining or sinking.
[Obs.]
Now was the sun in western
cadence
low. Milton.
2.
A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence.
3.
A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound;
as, music of bells in
. cadence
sweetBlustering winds, which all night long
Had roused the sea, now with hoarse
Seafaring men o’erwatched.
Had roused the sea, now with hoarse
cadence
lullSeafaring men o’erwatched.
Milton.
The accents . . . were in passion's tenderest
cadence
. Sir W. Scott.
4.
Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse.
Golden
cadence
of poesy. Shakespeare
If in any composition much attention was paid to the flow of the rhythm, it was said (at least in the 14th and 15th centuries) to be “prosed in faire
cadence
.” Dr. Guest.
6.
(Man.)
Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a well-managed horse.
7.
(Mil.)
A uniform time and place in marching.
8.
(Mus.)
(a)
The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest, commonly reached by the immediate succession of the tonic to the dominant chord.
(b)
A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.
Ca′dence
,Verb.
T.
To regulate by musical measure.
These parting numbers,
cadenced
by my grief. Philips.